Marra, Antonella Cinzia

4 publications

Guido, Adriano; Marra, Antonella Cinzia; Mastandrea, Adelaide; Tosti, Fabio; Russo, Franco (detail)

2011

Micromorphological, geochemical, and diagenetic characterization of sirenian ribs preserved in the Late Miocene paleontological site of Cessaniti (southern Calabria, Italy).
Facies 57(1): 179-190. 9 figs. "Jan. 2011" (publ. online Dec. 21, 2011).
—ABSTRACT: The site of Cessaniti (Vibo Valentia, Italy) has been well known since the 19th century for the richness and good preservation of its Miocene fauna and flora. The sedimentary succession of the site represents a paralic system that evolved toward an open-marine environment recording the Tortonian transgression. The fossil assemblage contains rich invertebrate (corals, bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, echinoids, benthic and planktonic foraminifers) and vertebrate faunas (proboscideans, rhinoceroses, giraffds, bovids, sirenids, marine turtles, and fish remains). The fossils recovered at the Cessaniti site have a relevant role in phylogenetic studies and paleogeographic reconstructions of Late Miocene environments of the southern Italy. This research is focused on the microstructure and preservation state of the fossil bones. Samples of Metaxytherium sp. bones have been analyzed to understand the diagenetic profile of the bone assemblages that characterizes the taphonomic history of the Cessaniti site. The analyses provided a comprehensive account of how bone mineral (bioapatite) has been altered and demonstrated that the post-burial processes did not significantly affect the micromorphological and biogeochemical features of the bones. The excellent preservation state of the bones strengthens the importance of the Cessaniti site for studies of the Mediterranean Miocene vertebrate fauna.

Carone, Giuseppe; Domning, Daryl Paul; Marra, Antonella Cinzia (detail)
2013	New finds of Metaxytherium serresii (Gervais, 1847) (Mammalia: Sirenia) from the Upper Miocene of Monte Poro (Calabria, Italy). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 52(3): 187-196. 3 tabs. 4 figs. Publ. online Dec. 30, 2013. —Italian summ. Abstr.: Carone & Marra, 2012, Giornate di Paleontologia XII - Catania: 26.

Carone, Giuseppe; Marra, Antonella Cinzia (detail)
2013	Recupero e restauro di un cranio di Metaxytherium serresii (Mammalia, Dugongidae) del bacino miocenico di Cessaniti-Zungri (Calabria, Italia). Boll. Mus. Stor. Nat. Venezia 64: 131-140. 6 figs. —Engl. summ.

Marra, Antonella Cinzia; Carone, Giuseppe; Agnini, Claudia; Ghinassi, Massimiliano; Oms, Oriol; Rook, Lorenzo (detail)

2017

Stratigraphic and chronologic framework of the Upper Miocene Cessaniti succession (Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy).
Riv. Ital. Paleontol. Strat. 123(3): 379-393. 7 figs. Nov. 2017.
—ABSTRACT: This study revises the mammal-bearing stratigraphic succession of Cava Gentile, near Cessaniti (Calabria, southern Italy), with the aim of dating the Late Miocene fossiliferous succession by the integration of mammal biochronology with sedimentology, magnetostratigraphy and marine biostratigraphy. Since the first discovery of mammal remains at Cessaniti, the chronological framework of the sedimentary succession was based on the biochronological significance of the mammal assemblage and on the biostratigraphic characterisation of the capping unit. Chronological control of the sedimentary succession and the age range of the mammal faunal assemblage at Cessaniti is now possible by combining the mammal biochronological constraints with biostratigraphy and the characterisation of the magnetostratigraphy of the sedimentary succession. Our study allows the conclusion that: i) an overall transgressive trend is recorded at the late Tortonian succession of the Capo Vaticano area, with locally different depositional trends; ii) the late Tortonian transgression was punctuated by minor episodes of forced regression, as attested by soils and fluvial deposits intercalated within the Cava Gentile succession (documented here for the first time); iii) the relative sea level rises that characterised these sedimentation patterns allowed accumulation of marine and terrestrial fossils in specific transgressive horizons; iv) the combination of palaeomagnetic data and biostratigraphic analyses, together with the biochronological constraints offered by the Cessaniti mammal assemblage, allows the assignment of the basal unit of the Cessaniti (Cava Gentile) succession to the normal Chron C4n (8.1–7.5 Ma); and v) the maximum range of the Cessaniti land mammal assemblage from Cava Gentile is about 1 Ma, bracketed between 8.1 and 7.2 Ma. Metaxytherium serresii, 387-388, 390; M. medium, 387, 390.